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Saturday, May 12, 2012

VOTE FOR Indie Authors: They Are Creating Jobs

With all of the political rambling going on as the 2012 election nears, I want to point out a fact that very few politicians are aware of…

Indie Authors are creating jobs.

Politicians don't seem to be doing anything to actually help the economy, and in a free society we shouldn't expect them to. Writers, however, have every tool they need, right now, to create jobs for themselves and for others. And honestly, I'm just sick over hearing the same old rhetoric about job creation, and other social and economic issues that our politicians talk about every four years. Their words are meaningless to me--nothing but empty promises.

It takes action and it takes ingenuity to create jobs. It takes risk. It takes hard work and there isn't a single pundit who will do that on your behalf, unless he's guaranteed re-election, or a silver coin in her pocket. And even if we send him or her back, what is their track record? Not very good.

No one creates jobs quite like the self-employed, and after all, indie authors are business owners. As authors, we can make a difference. We can create jobs. We can not only succeed in the world of publishing, but we can also do something that our idiot leadership in DC cannot seem to manage no matter how many times we re-elect them, or how much money we throw at them, or how many times they "promise" job creation. Yet the humble indie author is busy generating work.

Here are a few opportunities the indie author movement is creating:

Authors (obviously)

Freelance Proof Readers

Freelance Editors

Book Cover Designers

POD (print on demand) publishers.

Book Bloggers

Book Marketers

Author Consultants

Actors/Audio recording artists

If you are an author or a "wannabe", you should know that you are part of the answer to our struggling economy. You have within your grasp, the power to employ and the power to change lives. There is obviously a demand for ebooks, and as more Kindles and Nooks and Sony eReaders are sold, the more your services and the services of those who can help drive your success are absolutely needed.

If you are a one man or one woman show, doing everything on your own, you may find that you just can't get everything done at a professional level. Your editing may be lacking, or your cover may look cheesy. If this is you, perhaps you should invest in a professional editor, or cover designer. Creating jobs by hiring these pros will not only help create a professional product and likely drive more sales, but can also have an economic impact that we indie authors are quietly producing.

If you are new to self-publishing, please do not think you can create a quality book without spending any money. You can do a lot of things for free or on the cheap, but it takes a team, it takes cash, and it takes a plan. The demand for our ebooks is growing. So why not hire a pro, give the economy a shot in the arm, and show the world that indie authors are making quality products equal to or surpassing traditionally published ebooks.

Creating jobs takes imagination and no one has a better imagination than writers. We create everyday. We take our dreams and make them reality through our books. So forget about the false promises of those sneaky politicians; all they want is your vote. Instead, write more. Publish more books. VOTE for INDIE AUTHORS. You'll be glad you helped build our economy and your readers will, too.

6 comments:

Excellently said - I've hired myself a cover designer after struggling for a while trying to do something myself - making blog headers and buttons is not qualification enough to DIY I realised - eventually. And although I'll put my manuscript through two rounds of betas - It will still get a final edit too. As a reviewer/book blogger, I know the regret of opening a book only to find disappointment lurking on every page, in the form of grammar and formatting issues. It is not uncommon for me to simply stop reading now. Rarely ever used to do that. However we choose to publish, what we publish should be as professional as possible, otherwise we sign our names to crap and find our readers moving on to the next book. X

Couldn't agree more! Indie authors are the entrepreneurs of the publishing world (or so I like to tell myself). I think the potential for job creation will naturally grow with the ever-rising popularity of ebooks and ereaders.

Very true! I not only hire editors for my books (my first indie ebook I also hired a cover artist) but other professionals like web site designers and an office organizer. And I sure could use a personal assistant--perhaps I can hire one in the future. Nice article!

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